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The Battle Creek-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation has become the 10th foundation to chip in to a trust that would shore up Detroit's underfunded pension plans and protect the Detroit Institute of Arts' collection.

Kellogg is committing $40 million to the trust, bringing the total committed by the group of local and national foundations to $370 million.

"It is our urgent hope and our belief that this investment in the future of Detroit will help stabilize and renew the city at this critical time and also help create conditions that further the optimal development of all children, a mission that is central to our work," Kellogg Foundation said in a statement.

"In addition to financial resources, we offer our active collaboration with civic leaders and philanthropic partners. If we are to chart a new future for Detroit, it is clear that this will require big ideas, great passion and creative collaboration."

Leading the trust effort for Detroit are the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Kresge Foundation, Ford Foundation and the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Other foundations that have made commitments include the William Davidson Foundation, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, Hudson-Webber Foundation, McGregor Fund and the Flint-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

The working group of foundations that previously committed to the trust said the group is hopeful the fund will continue to attract commitments from individual donors and institutions.

"It is our urgent hope and our belief that our combined investments in the future of Detroit will help stabilize and renew the city at this critical time," the group said in a statement.

The possibility that the trust could help spur Detroit's emergence from bankruptcy was equally compelling as helping the pensioners and protecting the DIA collection, the foundations told Crain's in mid-January.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Snyder continues to work on a plan to bring $350 million in state support to the trust.

But his plan, which could include borrowing against Michigan's annual tobacco settlement funds, has drawn criticism from New York-based Fitch Ratings.

On Monday, the ratings agency said Snyder's plan snubs bondholders in favor of pensioners and could set a troubling precedent.

Fitch also voiced concern with Snyder's comment last week "...that state funds will not bail out bondholders or Wall Street but are going to Michiganders,'" saying it suggests an us-versus-them orientation to debt repayment.

"As the state and city continue down what could be a long road, actions and rhetoric that suggest bondholder rights are not an important consideration will continue to damage market perception of the state and its local governments," Fitch said.

Snyder's press secretary Sara Wurfel on Monday said the $350 million settlement offer is not about bailouts or helping Wall Street and banks. It's about helping to mitigate pension cuts and the impact on pensioners, she said.

"A settlement will help resolve the bankruptcy process faster, help ensure the city stays on its path to revitalization and save millions in taxpayer dollars - and would be in best interest of Detroiters, Michiganders and others across the country," she said.